Guwahati: The seventh edition of the Open Streets Guwahati event took place near Dighalipukhuri on March 19, 2023.

The event was inaugurated by Ratna Singh, the GMC Ward Councillor for Ward No. 31 (Dighalipukhuri and Paltanbazar area). Local social worker Manjit Hazarika also attended the event.

Open Streets events are organised across many cities in India and the world. These are non commercial events that are organised by local NGOs and organisations. The idea is to open up city streets to people, of all ages, abilities and backgrounds who can come out to take part in activities like cycling, walking, yoga, painting, zumba, group games, roller skating, martial arts demonstration, etc, for their mental and physical well being.

The main objective of Open Streets is to bring people together to enjoy the importance of car-free streets, physical activities, community engagement, and quality time so that together we can create a more vibrant, healthy, cleaner, equitable and livable city.

In Guwahati, the event is organized by ESAF Foundation and Pedal for a Change, in the winter season at places that are usually blocked for walking and running in the morning hours.

The event started under a cloudy sky with a Yoga session by Priya Tiwari which was followed the young skaters of Roller-Skating Association of Assam who demonstrated their skills on roller skates. The event saw the participation of NDRF personnel who demonstrated the use of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a lifesaving technique that’s useful in many emergencies.

Young students from Cosmic Grooves dance school from Hatigaon danced and mesmerised the crowd with their moves. The talented singer Rajib Nath enthralled the crowd with a couple of songs along while young poet Mousumi Rajbongshi (Wissenmonk artist) recited her poems. The event ended with the high voltage performances of Deepjyoti Lahon and Babul Debnath, from Decathlon, who demonstrated their stunt skills on a MTB cycle and roller skates respectively. The support by Spokehub Cycles, Cyclo-a-plant, and De KAV restaurant has been always great. Even though a few activities like Art Competition and Group games had to be cancelled due to the rains, the energy levels of the participants and audience was quite high.

The next edition of Open Streets Guwahati is expected to be held between October to December 2023.